Item Locking

Release 1.4 - ...

The TestSuite is now better suited for cooperative team development. Just like the Smartsite Manager, it now supports item locking to protect users from overwriting each other's content.
By making item locking optional, the user still has maximum flexibility when using the TestSuite for testing and experimentation.

Additionally, it warns the user when attempting to save an item that has meanwhile been updated on the server.

Locking Items

There is a number of features that help you when editing content in the TestSuite:

  • Actively lock items
    Using the context menu in the editor, you can lock and unlock content at any time.
    Locking an itemUnlocking an item
  • Implicitly lock every item opened
    Using the Options dialog, you can make the TestSuite lock each item you edit automatically.
    Making the TestSuite lock items when editing
  • Lock when saving
    The TestSuite always locks the item before you save it, to test whether another user has locked it.
  • Version checking
    The TestSuite will tell you when a newer version is available when you try to save. This way, even when no item locks are used, the risk of overwriting content is eliminated.

Technical Details

The TestSuite doesn't open a Manager Session that has a unique identifying GUID that is used to insert records in the ItemLocks table. Instead, it uses an identifier combining machine name and site name:

ItemLocks created by the Manager and the TestSuite

The TestSuite frees all Item Locks at both startup and shutdown. It can do so at startup due to the fact that the TestSuite clientGUID is statically defined. In case of crashes, simply restarting the TestSuite will free up its locks.